Over a period of many decades, there have been a host of devices for (1) regulating the resistance to rotation of the spool of a fly-fishing reel, (2) regulating the amount of clicking sound that the spool generates when rotating.
These devices have often been characterized by one or more of the following defects and disadvantages:
(a) inability to achieve a sufficient degree of change in the resistance to spool rotation, and in the clicking sound; PA1 (b) lack of independence of adjustment of resistance to rotation in one direction as distinguished from rotation in the other direction; PA1 (c) necessity of taking the spool out of the housing of the reel in order to change the resistance to rotation; PA1 (d) necessity of taking the spool out of the housing in order to change from left-hand to right-hand operation, in those devices where such change is possible at all; PA1 (e) complexity and high cost of manufacture; PA1 (f) difficulty of adjustment, and inability to predetermine from the outside of the reel exactly what the adjusted condition of the mechanism is; PA1 (g) inability to adjust resistance to spool rotation by externally-mounted knobs which need be rotated less than a full revolution in order to achieve a variation between an extremely high and an extremely low resistance to spool rotation, and which may be associated with indicia on the housing so that the fisherman may pre-set the knobs to known, desired positions. PA1 (h) inability to be adjusted instantly, and without disassembling the reel, for a right-handed or a left-handed fisherman. cl SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A pawl is pivotally mounted adjacent a clicker gear, the inner end of the pawl being disposed between two teeth of the gear. Spring means are provided in bearing engagement with each side of the pawl. Means, independent of each other, are provided to shift an associated spring means substantial distances along the pawl in order to change the moment arm between the spring means and the pawl axis. The moment arm being changed, the resistance to rotation of the pawl is markedly changed, to thus change both the resistance to turning of the clicker gear and its connected spool, and the sound generated by the clicker gear and pawl.
Stated more specifically, each spring means is a preloaded spring, which is mounted on a slide plate. The slide plate for each spring is shifted by a control knob rotatably mounted in the housing of the reel. An off-center pin connects the control knob to the slide plate at a slot in the latter. Suitable indicia are provided on the housing so that the exact rotated position of the control knob can be predetermined, the fisherman then knowing in advance what the setting of the reel is.